302 Chenodeoxycholic acid reduces intestinal permeability in newly weaned piglets 1 Y. van der Meer,* 2 W. J. J. Gerrits,* M. van den Bosch,† J. J. Holst,‡ M. Moreto,§ W. A. Buurman,# W. Kulik,║ and T. A. T. G. van Kempen¶ *Animal Nutrition Group, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands, 6708 WD; †Provimi Holding B.V., Velddriel, The Netherlands, 5334 LD; ‡Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2200; §Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain, 08028; #Department of Surgery, Maastricht University Medical Centre, Maastricht, The Netherlands, 6200 MD; ║Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, 1105 AZ; and ¶North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC 27695 1 The authors would like to recognize J. de Laat, K. Embregts, E. Vos, H. Brouwer, J. de Jong, and M. Erinkveld for technical assistance. The authors would also like to thank D. G. Burrin for his advice. 2 Corresponding author: meervander.y@gmail.com ABSTRACT: Piglets are highly susceptible to gut health-related problems. Intravenously administered chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) affects gut health mediated through glucagon-like peptide 2 (GLP-2). To test whether CDCA is a suitable feed additive for improving gut health, a trial was performed with newly weaned (21 d) piglets offered a diet with or without 60 mg CDCA/kg feed (n = 24/treatment). Upon weaning, piglets were fasted for 16 h and then intragastrically dosed with 20 g test feed in 40 g water. Subsequently, a jugular blood sample was taken on 45, 90, 135, or 180 min for analysis of GLP-2, peptide YY (PYY), and glucose. Afterwards, piglets were offered the experimental diets ad libitum. On days 3.5, 7.5, and 10.5 after weaning, serum responses to an intragastric dose of lactulose and Co-EDTA were tested at 2 h after dosing in 8 piglets per treatment. Immediately thereafter, piglets were euthanized, intestines were harvested, and permeability was measured ex vivo using the everted gut sac technique with 4 kDa fluorescein isothiocyanato (FITC)-dextran as marker at 25, 50, and 75% of the length of the small intestine. Dietary CDCA did not affect (P > 0.05) ADFI, ADG, G:F, blood glucose, and plasma GLP-2 and PYY. Serum cobalt and lactulose at day 10.5 tended to be lower in CDCA pigs compared with control pigs. Serum cobalt and lactulose concentrations were positively correlated (r = 0.67; P < 0.01). In conclusion, CDCA tended to reduce intestinal permeability at 10.5 d after weaning when fed to newly weaned piglets, implying that CDCA deserves further study as a means for improving intestinal health. The positive correlation found between Co-EDTA and lactulose indicates that both marker molecules measure similar change in permeability. Key words: chenodeoxycholic acid, everted gut sac technique, gut health, intestinal permeability, piglet © 2012 American Society of Animal Science. All rights reserved. J. Anim. Sci. 2012.90:302–304 doi:10.2527/jas50998 INTRODUCTION Piglets that are weaned early at 3 wk of age commonly suffer from gut health-related problems such as shortening of villi and decreased mucosal development. This affects nutrient absorption capacity and predisposes the animals to infections such as Escherichia coli (Cera et al., 1988; Pluske et al., 1997). Recently, in newborn piglets fed via total parenteral nutrition (TPN), the bile acid chenodeoxycholic acid (CDCA) increased intestinal mucosal growth mediated through glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) (Jain et al. 2012). The present study was designed to test whether CDCA as a feed additive could improve gut health in early-weaned piglets. MATERIAL AND METHODS The experimental protocol was approved by the Animal Care and Use Committee of Wageningen Livestock Research Institute, The Netherlands. In total, 48 (Talent × Topigs 20; Topigs, Vught, The Netherlands) barrows were blocked by BW (6.0 ± 0.59 kg) and housed individually during the 11-d experiment, starting with weaning at 21 d of age. Treatments consisted of a regular cereal-based diet for weaned pigs [containing Published January 23, 2015